Our lives
swing with
the pendulum
of time
Will we
change enough
to have
a future?
Our lives swing with the pendulum of time ~ Will we change enough to have a future? #ActNow #poetry
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It was a year ago when Extinction Rebellion and their demands were on every news channel possible. Today another rebellion starts, and we have heard hardly anything about it.
Well, that I haven’t heard anything about it on TV isn’t surprising. I avoid watching news as much as I can currently because it just depresses me and stops me from doing my bit for the future of all of us.
I am wondering since the beginning of this pandemic how much of it has to do with the climate crisis. So I took yesterday to read up on it. I knew the baseline: With a warmer climate, humankind will have to deal with more viruses and related illnesses. I didn’t know the in’s and outs of it though.
watch the sun rising
will she bring grain or hunger?
Let’s buy a new phone.
watch the sun rising ~ will she bring grain or hunger? ~ Let’s buy a new phone. #ActNow #poetry
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The in’s and outs of viruses and a warmer climate are rather complicated, and that is why hardly anyone talks about it I guess.
- Mosquitos ~ One of the biggest problems seems to be mosquitos which transmit many viruses and illnesses when they feed on our blood. A warmer climate changes their range. Even though science hasn’t exactly figured out yet why and how they spread more, scientists have seen a spread of the West Nile fever virus to the United States via mosquitos for example. What most sources said was that mainly Europe, North America and Asia will have to deal with a spread of mosquitos and the related illnesses.
- Waterborne viruses – There are a lot of viruses and other illness bearing creatures that swim around in dirty water. We in the western world do not think much about our water because we believe its clean, so we are safe. However, a warmer climate means more and more floods. If you ever experienced a flood, then you know how it makes your toilet spill over with all the detritus that it brings with it. And of course, our rivers that spill into our places of living have enough ill-making stuff in them. Most sources say that especially in Europe & Asia, more and more people are exposed to the possibility of contracting diarrhoea illness, including cholera because of flooding.
- Extreme Weather – No-one even the most prominent climate change denier can deny that our weather gets more and more extreme. Here in the Uk we just had autumn storms in August and one of the coldest summer bank holidays on record. People disagree on the reasons for it but looking into the last ten years shows extreme weather that’s hardly ever seen before. And while weather is more local, it is determined by the climate as a whole. Storms, floods, heat waves have a direct impact on our food production. Flooded fields do not yield potatoes and often need years to recover. Heatwaves make harvests smaller. And while the developed world doesn’t have to deal with famines yet they just have experienced in the pandemic what fear of not having enough to eat does to a society. Plus malnutrition makes you more susceptible to viruses and illnesses in general. And heatwaves kill. Mainly our elderly and babies.
In this video you find some more reasons:
These are just a couple of complicated connections when it comes to illnesses and the weather.
Illness, injustice…
are we connecting the dots?
Let us drink more wine.
Illness, injustice… ~ are we connecting the dots? ~ Let us drink more wine. #ActNow #poetry
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You might hope that this pandemic is “just” a one-off, but my feeling is that this is only the beginning. And I am writing from a developed country point of view. Africa, parts of Asia and South-America already deal with these realities.
The longer I think about all that is happening in the last ten years, the more I get the impression that we are not connecting the dots:
- We see right-wing politicians take over our governments.
- We see extreme weather.
- We see the gap between rich and poor getting bigger and bigger.
We see workers losing rights, discrimination of minorities of all flavours growing and mental health issues too. But I feel we do not think all this has to do with each other.
However, the social system of “making money at all costs” and “only economic growth will save us” doesn’t work. We see it everywhere from homeless families where parents are in work, flood victims not getting the help they were promised to plastic destroying our wildlife.
The problem is, of course, that we do not have another system. The problem is also that this is such a ginormous problem; it makes us feel helpless to the point of inability to act. And, in my opinion, the problem is also that we get distracted by the newest things to buy, the latest scandal may it be political or some footballer and the newest fad on social media.
Green and blue planet
We know it is worth saving
take one step today
Green and blue planet ~ We know it is worth saving ~ take one step today #ActNow #poetry
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These are all the reasons why Extinction Rebellion is disturbing our “business as usual” habits. I very much hope they inspire you to connect the dots and to start acting. It’s never too late to start. One step at a time, you can change your life to become sustainable. And every single act that each of us do daily will make a huge impact. This will give our planet and us a future.
I believe in you
Feel hopeless but act despite
the reasons not to
I believe in you ~ Feel hopeless but act despite ~ the reasons not to #ActNow #poetry
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Please find some ideas what you can do today in this blog post.
Thanks my dears, for staying with me until the end.
I appreciate your presence.
Please stay safe, stay kind and remember
that you rock!
These are the articles and opinions I read about the topic of viruses and climate crisis:
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/22/opinions/pandemics-global-warming-linked/index.html
the-bee-writes.com 
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